Here's the felt Johnny Damon (centerfielder for the Red Sox, of course) flamingo that Lucy Van Pelt sent me! It's only appropriate that he be reincarnated as a flamingo since the Sox hold their spring training in Florida. He watched the game with me today.

Here's my entry!I call it a candlier - sort of a hanging candle-holder.

dollar store supplies:package of colorful votives

wooden "spoons" - the kind you get with those little cups of italian ice, or, for those of you in the northeast, Hoodsie Cups

paper rope

the results:top-view of the candlier

close-up

hanging view

hanging with candles lit

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I love the colors - especially for summer. I think I'm going to make more and hang them from the trees in my backyard for an evening bbq I'm having. The only non-dollar store supply used was glue. Also, extra caution was taken so the rope doesn't get too close to the flame.

if you have a drill (if not you can rent one from most hardware stores) it's very simple to make "trees" out of dowels and a sheet of plywood. bags can be hung from the posts and smaller items like coin purses can be lined around the base.

for magnets I like to use metal buckets like this turned upside-down. make sure it's not aluminum, though, as aluminum isn't magnetically receptive (just bring a magnet with you to test). you can get them at hardware stores, gardening supply stores, or Cost Plus (though there's a bit more expensive there).